Publisher: Avon Impulse
Where did you get the book: e-ARC from Netgalley
Release date: Out now
Blurb taken from Goodreads:
“Regency England just got real(ity)
Episode 1: How Kathryn Got Her Passion Back
Kathryn, Duchess of Harrington, has the perfect life: a handsome duke for a husband, riches to spare, a house in Mayfair, and the right group of friends. The only thing she doesn’t have is her husband in her bed. But she’s about to change that. Enlisting the aid of her best friend, Linnette, who knows about these things even though she’s a duchess herself, Kathryn begins her seduction plan.
But Linnette knows a secret and it involves Kathryn’s husband. And, when that comes out, Kathryn’s marriage isn’t the only thing at stake. Can you say Afternoon Tea Catfight?”
The premise of this caught my eye, and I hadn’t yet tried a title from the Avon Impulse imprint so I thought it was the perfect chance. From what I can gather from the blurb and from reading Kathryn, the Kitten (such a strange title. I didn’t see the connection to the story), this series is somewhat like the regency version of Desperate Housewives…sort of. And I’m also guessing that each episode will feature a different heroine that was featured briefly in episode 1.
Kathryn, The Kitten has someone of a slow start. In alternating chapters, it’s told from the maid’s, Kathryn’s, and Robert’s POV. Kathryn is the perfect duchess. She dresses and acts accordingly. She does her duties, but there is a strain between her husband ever since a tragic incident occurred. Since then, their love life is practically non-existent and they’re almost like strangers living under the same roof. Kathryn wants to change this for a multiple of reasons, but she knows she misses Roberts, and wants the closeness back. And she knows she needs to do her duty to provide an heir. So she turns to her dear friend, Linnette — who has had lovers and knows and enjoys sex — for advice on how to seduce her husband.
I found the beginning of the book to be quite clunky, and it really didn’t capture my attention. It took a while to get into the story because the conversations and descriptions felt almost stilted. I found myself finally getting into the story, and while I think it has a great premise, I have a lot of problems with the execution.
I wasn’t really engaged with any of the characters. Other than the issues between Kathryn and Robert, neither showed any personality whatsoever. I don’t know what Kathryn is like as a person, and the same goes for Robert. At first, I didn’t even know if they loved one another. There is hardly any passion between them, and they were quite lacklustre as people also. There was also no sense of place within the story; only conversations and not a lot of action.
It was quite predictable what Linnette was hiding about Robert, and when it was revealed, the emotions just felt stilted for me. Angry words were issued, but the emotive connection was missing for me. Considering the serious issues that Kathryn and Robert had to deal with, everything was resolved so quickly, and with sex. Since this story is only a 100 pages, I do question the use of heavy issues used for the story in such a short amount of page time.
I found it hard to believe that Linnette and Robert would keep that past secret from Kathryn for so long, and not realise that doing so would hurt her. I found it to be quite bizarre really. I didn’t get much personality from Linnette, other than she had lovers and she now has a new secret and a secret love. Her book is next, but I don’t have much interest reading her story. Whilst I do this the series has a good premise, I was not that impressed with the 1st episode.
I give Kathryn, The Kitten a D.